I hope you enjoyed Full Steam ahead! Over the weekend Luke and I went to some nearby nurseries and accumulated more wonderful plants for my property. The way I see it if I continue to make small purchases here and there it won’t seem like such a burden on the check book when the landscaping and garden is all said and done.

The first two nurseries we visited seemed like a bust, one was filled to the brim with a wide array of plants but their prices left me shocked and disappointed, especially this time of year when most places start to down size. The second nursery we visited had their large sale just three weeks prior, so there was hardly any inventory in their green houses. Another strike, I was beginning to lose hope in my search for blue berries, honey suckle, pampas grass and more colorful succulents that I could continue to propagate through winter.

When we were about to give up for the day we stumbled on an older nursery that was just a few blocks from the previous stop. It looked promising as we pulled into the parking lot with bright colored kale outside on display. We walked in and one entire green house building was filled with succulents. I had hit the jack pot! Not only that but as we continued through their facility we noticed that their prices were a bargain. Mostly all of the plants on display were less that $3. Luke picked up some lilac bushes for the bees and I found the beautiful purple variety of succulent I had been looking for. I also scored about 15 hyacinth bulbs, 12 onion starts (for a $1!) and pineapple mint (also only $1). I would definitely recommend Woodland Park Green House to anyone looking for a great variety of plants at low cost in the Sumner area. Luke and I plan to check back in on them come spring to see what other plant varieties they bring in.

We also visited one of my favorite nurseries in Belfair. The Brothers Greenhouses has a splendid selection of plants and also a cute little hobbit house to explore. For my homesteads sake a majority of the plants I am choosing have to serve my stomach or my bees’. They had well over 10 varieties of blueberries there and were by far the best priced ones I had seen all weekend so I picked up three different plants, two were of the Toro variety (drought tolerant, a large producer and hardy through harsh winters.) and the third was a pink popcorn which produces berries that are actually pink (I love a landscape with color variety)! 

I also snagged a beautiful candy swirl honeysuckle vine that will be drought tolerant with a long blooming season in summer for my bees. The staff at brothers is extremely helpful and assured me the blueberries would do well in their current pots until I was ready to plant them in the spring. The honeysuckle looked like it was getting slightly root bound so we did give it a larger pot to call home until planting.

I am getting very excited for winter to come and go. But it also is a great time to continue planning the landscape and continue to educate myself on plants that I already have established on the property. To the left are the plants awaiting their new homes this spring. Upcoming is my post on More Savings! So be sure to check back in.